Search engine marketing promotes a website by increasing the visibility of advertisements on a search results page displayed by a search engine. For example, an advertiser may purchase text-link search results for display on multiple search engines. For each search engine provider, the advertiser can pay the search engine provider when their advertisement is clicked by a user, which is sometimes referred to as pay-per-click (PPC). Alternatively, the advertiser can pay the search engine provider for the inclusion of a relevant advertisement, such as a listing in a directory. The advent of search engine marketing and paid search results advertising can be attributed to search engine providers' need for revenue. Nevertheless, search engine marketing is considered by advertisers to be one of the most effective approaches for reaching consumers and, more particularly, for reaching consumers that exhibit intent to purchase a good or a service.
Search engine marketers are concerned with the location and the position of an advertisement for a product or a service within search engine results for maximum exposure and effectiveness. However, search engine providers generally sell this advertisement space to the highest bidder. For example, when an advertiser places a bid for a particular keyword to trigger the display on an advertisement on a particular search engine, the highest bidder wins and pays the search engine provider the second highest bidding price—i.e., the advertiser pays the minimum amount necessary to maintain its position and/or placement on the particular page. Unlike the advertiser that is motivated to present highly valued advertisements to users, search engine providers are inclined to accept advertisements from advertisers that paid the most for that advertisement space. Because of this, it can be difficult to run effective advertising campaigns with such high pay-per-click rates.
Moreover, the advertisements allowed by search engine providers have generally been limited. For example, search engine providers generally limit advertisers to text advertisements that link a user to a particular web page. In another example, search engine providers provide an advertiser with an approach for site retargeting, where the advertiser can only target those users that have performed a search using their search engine and immediately visit the advertiser's website.
There is therefore a need in the art for approaches that provide effective online advertising based on previous user search information. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide methods, systems, and media that overcome these and other deficiencies of the prior art.
For example, the present invention provides advertisers, agencies, advertisement networks, advertisement exchanges, and publishers with approaches for targeting and/or retargeting media content based on previous user search information. In another example, using models that incorporate previous user search information, the present invention provides an approach for purchasing media content and/or inventory. In yet another example, using models that incorporate previous user search information, the present invention allows an advertiser to present an advertisement to a user or advertisement viewer on a different website after the user has exhibited the intent to purchase the advertiser's product or service.